Archive for August, 2006

The Canadian department of Fisheries and Oceans, publishes a series of volumes called Sailing Directions. The volumes are divided by region, we used the BC (southern portion) volume. This book was invaluable. In its 400 pages it discusses, in various levels of detail, every rock, nook, and cranny on Vancouver island or the adjacent mainland. […]

Sooke is a large, well sheltered harbour filled with dangers. The entrance needs leading marks to keep boats from hitting the rocks and bars in the middle of the channel. Do not enter the harbour until you see the two daymarks line up, one above the other. Keep them in line as you approach until […]

Depart: Sooke, 8:30 Breakfast: Eggs aboard Weather: cloudy Visibility! We could see across Juan de Fuca when we got out of bed and excitedly decided that we could handle 20-30 kt winds as we could finally see where we were going. We motored around Sooke harbour looking for a fuel dock. Finding unmarked shoal after […]

Depart: 8:30, Port Renfrew Breakfast: Eggs & bread aboard Weather: clear in the harbour with a fog bank at the mouth After a surprisingly good night’s sleep, we weighed anchor and motored out to the mouth of Port San Juan. We could see a fog bank across the face of the the port, but the […]

Depart: Ucluelet, 10:20 am Breakfast: New Orleans skillet/grilled vegetable omelette @ Starfish Cafe Weather: Sunny & warm We passed several sea lions as we motored out of Ucluelet. We saw one bickering with some seagulls, one minding its own business and two sunning themselves on an abandoned dock. We motored to Chrow Island, where we […]

Depart: Bamfield, 8 am Breakfast: eggs & bread aboard Weather: heavy fog Despite being unable to see across Bamfield’s narrow harbour, Wai Whare set off in dense fog. The crew was optimistic that the fog would dissipate early as it had in Ucluelet, and there was a long day ahead. Wai Whare lost sight on […]

Port Renfrew is the name of the town at Port San Juan, a 2km by 6km bay on Vancouver Island facing the straight of Juan De Fuca. The bay is large and free of harzards except close to shore at the entrance. The bay gradually shallows to a beach and there is plenty of room […]

Depart: Tofino, noon Breakfast: Bacon & eggs Weather: fog The impenetrable fog around Tofino lifted after 11 am and we decided to depart. We pumped out the holding tak for free then departed the docks. We motored out of Tofino under sunny skies, but were caught by dense fog before clearing the Barrier Islands. We […]

Depart: 9:30, Hot Springs Cove Breakfast: Porridge/leftover vegetables Weather: sunny, light wind Motored out of Hot Springs Cove, brought up foresail early and slowly sailed up Sydney Channel. Turned into Shelter Inlet where we brought up the main and alternately zoomed along and drifted. As we turned into Miller Channel, the wind blew up the […]

Bamfield is a small town that surrounds a narrow inlet. While smaller than Tofino or Ucluelet, it is bigger than the other towns on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It has a year-round restaurant, store, offices, and a coast guard station. There is a boardwalk along the inlet, but there are also roads inland. […]